Love of a SOLDIER
by Placido
Summary: In order for her name to be placed among the ranks of SOLDIER, Heather leaves home, disguises her gender and becomes a candidate for SOLDIER. As her journey continues, Heather realizes that hiding her gender isn't the only problem she'll be facing.
1. Chapter 1

**THIS STORY BELONGS TO ME! **

**ALL CHARACTERS of ****FINAL FANTASY VERSUS XIII**** BELONG TO SQUARE-ENIX**

**ALL OC'S ARE ****MINE****! **

This story is made for my entertainment and they enjoyment of others because FINAL FANTASY is freakin awsome! XD

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><p><em>Hold fast to dreams <em>

_For if dreams die_

_Life is a broke-winged bird_

_That cannot fly._

_Hold fast to dreams_

_For when dreams go _

_Life is a barren field _

_Frozen with snow._

_~ Langston hughes_

Love of a SOLDIER

Chapter one:

A young woman trudged into the tavern and stopped for a moment, looking around. The interior was lit with torches set into the walls instead of the standard electric lights, giving it an old-fashioned, yet natural look. The smell of smoke hung in the air, not oppressive but simply there, in its own way as natural as the torches on the walls. A large plaque on the far wall proudly proclaimed that Eurney's Tavern had been in business for over forty years. Behind the counter, the Innkeeper - presumably none other than Eurney himself - stood, polishing a beer glass which, judging from the chips and scratches, had been around as long as Eurney's Tavern itself had.

The tables were unoccupied - the sun still hung in the sky, and the night crowd had yet to come - but the counter itself played host to a handful of people. The young woman chose an isolated seat and sat down.

The man behind the counter was large and burly, dressed in a loose blue shirt and pants. His gray hair and wrinkled features told Heather that he was past his prime, but there was still obvious power in his muscled frame, tempered by the wisdom and experience that came with age. He turned and smiled at Heather.

"Eurney." she said, nodding at the bald innkeeper washing a few glasses behind the counter.

The inkeeper, with a cool gaze that spoke of years of experience, and chuckled at her sight. "Heather Sparks. Never thought I'd see you back after last time." His voice was a rough, low bass that rumbled like a drum.

Heather smiled, she flashed her teeth and tried to make the smile look like a real honest smile.

"I didn't mean to do that, Eurney. You know that."

Eurney the innkeeper shook his head and smiled. "Sure you didn't, Heather. But since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you off the hook but only this time, kid. You understand?"

"Absolutely!" Heather said, giving Eurney a thumb up. "But of course you got to stop calling me kid, you know I'm going to be a SOLDIER soon."

"...SOLDIER huh?" Shaking his head ruefully, the man said, "Why don't you just give up, Heather?" Eurney scolded her once. "It's obvious you can't join SOLDIER! You're like the turtle who wanted to fly!"

Heather smiled so brightly, so honestly, that Eurney had no doubt she was stupid. Who would smile when somebody told them off?

"I'll fly, one day- you'll see! I'll work really hard to achieve my dream of being a great SOLDIER!"

_"I hope you do... for your sake..."_ Eurney had wanted to say, but when he saw a few of his costumers file in through the doors and sit down at a nearby table in the corner- what came out of their mouth was _almost_ expected. "How pathetic. Whoever heard of a girl that wants to join SOLDIER?" a male voice came behind her.

Heather's face looked crushed.

"Did you hear me?" the man sneered, his eyes burned angrily. People listened to him, they never defied him, he would show this little girl how things worked around here. "Don't you know? Women arn't allowed to join SOLDIER."

Heather blinked out of her daze at the last proclamation and glared towards the man who had spoken it.

"Shut up."

One by one, heads swerved to watch the commotion.

"What?"

"…"

"_What_?!"

"Shut. Up."

Heather's body was shaking with suppressed rage for these men! They ridiculed her for _what _she was, a woman. Her fist was white as bone clutching it tighter. She wanted to hurt them, draw at least the first blood and end this! They were a poison that was attacking her inside and wouldn't rest until she surrendered to them.

"I will become SOLDIER." Heather said, turning to the voice behind her.

"A female in SOLDIER? That's cute." he said, apparently a SOLDIER himself by the look of his suit. "Must have something you're trying to prove, I assume."

"What of it?" Heather snapped.

"You won't get far," The man replied cooly. The lines of his frown deepened as the SOLDIER scowled, "Someone like you has no place in SOLDIER. So I suggest you give up before you break a nail." They laughed including everyone in the bar.

"Break a nail?" she demanded, her voice reamined firm trying to suppress her growing rage.

Big mistake. He pissed her off.

She glared, shaking with uttermost fury as she stood up.

"That's it!" Heather lunged at him, he yelped as she threw punches and kicks at his face. His lip was busted, his nose was bleeding down his chin and his left cheek was starting to bruise.

She punched him to the stomach. He had no chance avoiding attacks for she was on top of him giving more power in each of her punch. "Don't just stand there! Restrain her!" he shouted in between gasps as he earns a punch to his head and passes out on the floor.

They rush at her. There are probably seven of them.

Heather felt a sudden spike of panic and she twisted around as if to ask but the men grabbed her, hauling her along. She fought them then, pulling at her arms as she was dragged. When these attempts failed she jerked an arm free and struck one of the men. Again she did this when he attempted to restrain her.

Quite a few of her blows landed until she was picked up, still flailing about in her protest before the man she hit rallies back and returns a hard blow to her stomach. Heather was pretty sure she just heard something snap. Heather dosen't stop though, she can't give up. She needs to keep going, they will be her example for all those other bastards out there; messed with her who didn't believe she could do it.

Though no more words were passed from her lips, the sounds of her struggle were clear until she was tossed. Time seemed to have slowed down for Heather, her flying through the air with the sudden, strange, longing to fly suddenly with her before the harsh pain of the ground made itself known, as if telling her 'well that's not possible!'.

"Keep on walkin _SOLDIER girl_! A place like SOLDIER isn't a place for little girls," The one in the back spoke now, his arms folded across his chest as he looked over the brawl, which was fading in intensity now as everyone realized what had happened and stopped to stare at them. The vibration of the slamming door clearly indicated they walked back inside.

She gave a pained sound between a grunt and a shout before pushing herself up, running on mostly adrenaline at this point.

"SOLDIER is everything..." Heather said quietly.

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><p>Heather is englishscotish for 'flower/Plant' A low-growing shrub with small purplish flowers that thrives on peaty barren lands and Heath is devived from _Heather_ which practically means the same thing. It is pronounced _heeth_.

This is my first story on this website that I haven't updated in a long time. Those of you who have sticked with this story I deeply appolize for the long wait. (Two three years? XD) I went back and edit and made a lot of corrections so it might look a whole lot different then it did before. It was fun to read over a story that was written by a fifteen year old me. haha I totally couldn't believe that I wrote that It reminded me of a noob amature writer? I'm embaressed! Even my profile needs updating! lol. My goal is to finish it and move on to my other stories to make my readers happy. ^^

I really do hope you'll all stay with this story till the end!

~_Placido_


	2. Chapter 2

Love of a SOLDIER

Chapter 2:

In a dimly lit room, at the top of a creaky wooden staircase, in an old apparment on the wrong side of town, a Heather stared at herself in a dirty, cracked mirror. It was unusual for this particular girl to waste time in self-contemplation. Every day she wore the same dirty clothes, and the same dirty face always looked back at her, so she rarely bothered to glance at the mirror on the wall. She knew that the face was pale and drawn, with high cheekbones and large brown eyes, the sunken cheeks below them giving her a malnourished appearance. But these features were not what had her attention now. It was her hair.

Heather pulled out a pair of scissors and began to cut her purplish-black waist length hair. Once long and curling, that now lay flat against her head and just reached her jaw line. She had hacked it off moments before with a rather dull knife, and the act had completed her transformation. In the past few weeks, as she lay in the dark and plotted her plan, it had crossed her mind many times that, for once, she was glad to have no truly feminine features. Her lashes were not curled like clock springs, nor her chest ample, and she had little feminine figure to flatter, even had her dresses not been three sizes too big. Heather is 155 cm tall (5'1_). _Her hair had been her one defining feature, and now it was gone. The girl drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Gone too was Heather. In her place stood Heath, the SOLDIER boy.

After she finished she set her scissors down on the counter in her bathroom; she then glanced up at the mirror that was right in front of her. Heather looked different with her hair short. Heather personally liked it better long but, if she want to prove to the men that a woman can join SOLDIER, then she'll cut her hair and bind her breasts if she has to.

She hated lying. Heather would _be_ a lie. There were so many things that she had to change. Her gender didn't bother her as much. The men in the tavern always managed to make her regret having been born a girl anyway. And boys' clothes were more practical. The loss of her hair was what bothered her most. She had been so proud of it. Silly to think that such a small thing had been so important to her. It was only hair; and it would grow back. But it was the one thing Heather had liked about herself. _Well, that should make it that much easier to leave Heather behind, shouldn't it?_ She asked herself. Not only was she joining because she wanted to prove herself. Being SOLDIER had its benefits such as the, pay.

She took one last look at her brown eyes; she knew they would inject her with Mako, so her eyes will soon change color but at least not any time soon. She then knelt down and grabbed the pieces of her hair that she had cut off. _"It'll grow back one day,"_ Heather thought as she walked over to the trash can and dumped her hair in it. She grabbed the pants and slipped them on.

Proceeding with her dressing, she pulled on the boots she had previously purchased; she than grabbed her wallet, which she flipped open to check the amount of money it contained.

Only a few gill… "Damn," Heather mumbled.

Heather shook her head. Another deep breath, and then a silent flurry of activity. She shoved the dull knife into her belt, pulled on her jacket and hat (both stolen from customers sleeping down in the tavern), and tossed her knapsack over her shoulder. She opened the door to the hallway just a crack, and looked to make sure that no one was awake and wandering around. Then she slipped out into the hallway like a shadow, silent and hidden in the dark. She stepped down the stairs, avoiding each and every creaking spot that she had committed to memory in the last weeks, and crept across the open room. She had to step over a few sleeping drunks, but they didn't bother her—she knew that nothing short of an explosion could wake them now. Then she was at the door, and the thumping of her heart in her chest nearly drowned out all of her other senses; she swung the door slowly inward and slipped through it, whispering goodbye to her previous life.

Leaving the apartment, she walked cautiously out into the street. Heather was thankful for the street lights that illuminated her pathway, they were always on at night instead of flickering and being on at seldom times. Although Midgar appeared to have escalated in improvement but in addition Heather believed it was plummeting. Ever since ShinRa had altered into an electrical company, life appeared to get simpler.

To some extent, evidently.

Electrical enery was now fuled through the homes of residence who could manage to pay and meet the exspenses, and People who did away with generators heavily relied on ShinRa's electricity to keep their home warm instead of having to crank a machine that would only work half the time. Everything seemed to get better when Mako energy replaced fossil fuels but although it helped make life easier, there seemed to be unrest in the world.

The days grew darker and duller but everything seemed to be much more sluggish. Mako engery being in constant use, the clouds that usually overcast the sky had turned into a muddy brown and the rain had become a murky, gray color instead of being clear. No one was sure that it was the Mako energy that was causing the weather to change or if Gaia was just going through a natural climate change. The air quality had changed as well. The air tasted of chalk and charcoal while it smelled of grime and waste (depending on which section you were in). In most cases it would cause health problems such as asthma and a bronchitis in people and it was just not the place to live if you were sick. In a result the slums slowly became a deserted place. Nothing but buildings, apartments, and empty streets, nearly silent every night; not even a child's laughter was to be heard. It was hard to hear in this lonely city.

_I've hated it since I was a little girl._

Before heading to the transport. Heather began walking in the direction of Sector 1. She stopped only a few blocks away from where she started to walk.

She turned on her heel and began to walk towards Sector 1 Train Station, digging in her pockets for her ID card. Once she checked and made sure she had it, she walked toward the train.

After the long ride, the train finally came to a stop at Sector 7. She got off the train, along with a lot of other people, and she walked down the steps of the platform and took a right into Sector 7. The first thing she needed to do was find a place where the bus would supposedly pick up candidates.

Asking for directions Heather found herself waited at the place for the bus to arrive she was extremely nervous. What if they found out she was a girl? What would she do then? Heather shivered as she only saw a couple of men gather at the same place with her. What if they somehow they found out? What if they find out and then rape her? Use her? Heather's eyes widened at her thoughts and widely shook her head. When the bus finally arrived the grey bus stopped to pick up Heather and the other men, and with all her might she stepped up and as to be expected a bunch of rowdy teenage boys were on board.

Heather glanced at them for a brief moment before looking away. Heather glanced at the seats. A few were empty; she really didn't feel like sitting with a group of boys that knew each other, while she knew no one. Looking towards the back, she noticed an empty seat; walking past the other boys Heather made her way to the back of the bus. The trip was a long, uncomfortable one. Heather was seated at the very back of the bus, staring out the window.

The only time Heather shifted her gaze was when the bus stopped to pick up more SOLDIER candidates. They usually came in groups, laughing, joking, and saying that they were going to "kick some ass!" Heather would just turn her gaze back to the passing scenery. She seemed to be in her own universe, blocking out the voices of this world.

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><p>SOLDIER; second class Zack Fair began to grin when he caught sight of his mentor. "Angeal!" At the sound of a very familiar voice calling his name, Angeal turned his head to acknowledge his student. "Morning Angeal! What's with the gathering?" Zack asked puzzled as to why a swarm of SOLDIER members were just standing around, instead of on assignment.<p>

"SOLDIER candidates arrive today." Angeal answered, "Most of these guys are here to see the candidates and bet which ones are staying after the first week."

Glancing past Angeal, Zack noticed that some of the guys were holding clipboards. Turning his attention back to his teacher, Zack beamed. "Did ya bet on me Angeal?"

"Nope." Angeal smirked when Zack's grin disappeared. "None of the guys wanted to bet against me. I do have an eye for spotting talent." At this Zack's spirits instantly lifted and he crossed his arms behind his head, grinning with pride this time.

"Well I am going to become a first soon!"

"We'll see."

"Aw, c'mon Angeal! Give me some credit!"

Angeal shook his head, his smirk still present on his face. "If you want to become a first, strength, discipline and honor are the three elements you will need." Zack frowned, irritated by Angeal's little speech. If he ever found out who made Angeal into a nag, they were going to get a piece of his mind! Zack's shoulders drooped in defeat, and with a barely audible sigh he followed his teacher towards the other SOLDIER members. He straightened up his posture as they neared the crowd. Though the conversations were separate, they all shared the same topic.

The fresh meat candidates.

"Here they come," One of the seconds announced. Grey buses drove up, and parked into their assigned lots.

"I wonder how good this year's applicants will be." Angeal commented as he watched the novices file out of their buses. "That one." Following his teacher's gaze, Zack raised an eyebrow at who Angeal was looking at. He was standing off to the side, tapping the toe of his shoe as he waited for the other boys to clear out so he could get his stuff. Compared to the other boys, he was kind of…scrawny.

Zack looked up at Angeal, giving him a 'you-got-to-be-kidding' stare. Ignoring his apprentice criticizing look, Angeal added, "He's small, but he's got a strong-will. He's the kind of kid who doesn't give up easily. Trust me Zack; he's a person of interest."

"Okay! Found luggage!" Heather said.

Just when Heather was about to grab the strap of her bag more luggage was thrown on top of it. Heather frowned seeing her bag under the pile. Now the question was; how was she going to get it out?

"Okay, I can do this!" Heather slipped her arm through the strap, trying to pull it out of the mountain of bags on top of it but with no success she had already broke a sweat trying to pull her bag out of the pile. Many of the candidates pulled their bags out like it was second nature to them, not one of the candidates offered to help her get her bag. Some of the young men laughed at her and made jokes indicating she was weak.

Her shoulder slumped forward. "Okay, no I can't..."

Heather lay on the cold ground, an embodiment of pain. She watched as the crowd walked away, not even looking her way.

"Help…?" She whispered inaudibly to the passing crowd. The figures all blurred together, so that she could not tell one from the other; they were just blurs of color. No one stopped to help.

She could feel herself slipping into a void. Heather was confused to why no one would help her. She felt like running back to her appartment. Heather's stomach twisted uneasily. She felt like she was going to be sick. What was she going to do now? She heard someone say something and then she looks up.

"Need a hand?" Heather see's a gloved hand in front of her face.

Her eyes trailed up to find the owner of the outstretched hand, staring down at her she saw a young male that looked about her age he had short spiky black hair and bangs framing the sides of his face, lightly tanned skin that stretched over his muscles, proof of his SOLDIER training. He was also tall, well-built, and features the iconic sky-blue "Mako Eyes." that many SOLDIERs have. Heather gives him a soft reassuring smile and grabs his hand so she could stand. His hands were huge with gloves; hard as granite against hers.

His touch truly is lightning electric on her skin, the moment she touched him she felt alive. Her hands are still ice, but their heat is warming them considerably, and it won't be long before every part of her is as electric-hot as he is, and she doesn't dare to wonder what makes them that way. So she was more than a little surprised at the touch of the warm hand encircling her own, pulling her up as if he had given her the will and strength to keep pushing forward to not give up, and even more so when she got a close up and her brown eyes met the mako eyes again of her self proclaimed rescuer.

Something unreadable was in those eyes, something strong that thrilled Heather to the core; not like the muscles he possessed that inflamed her so. The warm, gentle touch of this man was shocking to Heather, and surely that was why she was feeling light headed.

All too soon she had to detach her hand from his own, Heather wasn't sure if she was breathing as the gloved hand pulled away.

_Such beautiful eyes _Heather thought.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"What?" she blushed. It was almost as if he had just read her mind. This man unsettled her. She felt as though she was becoming delirious and disoriented. He was making these strange fluttering feelings in the pit of her stomach, and the feeling did not make her happy.

"The road of SOLDIER, strength and courage. What else?" he said still smiling.

Heather felt her mouth go dry. "Oh." So he wasn't talking about _that_. She turned back to her earlier mission trying to get her bag out. She fell back onto the ground making another round of men double over in laughter. Even the higherups were laughing at her! Heather glared at them as she leant against it and wiped away a thin sheet of sweat covering her forehead.

The man smiled again rubbing the back of his head trying hard not to laugh. "You need help with that?"

She nodded and sighed once again this time in defeat.

"Thanks for the help." Heather said.

"No problem." Zack pulled her bag out of the mountain of bags on top of it without breaking a sweat. He handed her, her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder Heather took this as her cue to leave but then Zack stopped her.

"SOLDIER 2nd class Zack Fair, yours?" Zack asked holding out his hand to shake her hand.

"Heathe-Heath Sparks." Heather lied reaching out to shake Zack's hand.

_Wow! He's one of my superiors. 2nd class he must be pretty good! _Heather thought.

"Nice to meet you, Heath! Just wanted to help out, guess I'll see ya around!" Zack said walking away. Heather already knew that she would not have time to rest. The candidates would drop their bags into their assigned quarters and then the testing would begin. No one would fail; it was mostly showing off your strengths and having your superiors judge you. As Heather dropped her bag onto her bed, she thought about her old life living in the slums.

_Yep this was way better then living in the slums._


	3. Chapter 3

Love of a SOLDIER

Chapter three:

"Listen up maggots!" A First-class SOLDIER member commanded. Immediately, all the young applicants stopped talking and focused their attention on the blond haired SOLDIER elite. "I am Roy Kalinowski, and I am in charge of your barrack. I expect the first words out of your mouth to be sir, and the last words to be sir, understood!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" The candidates retorted.

"Good." Roy Kalinowski was a First class SOLDIER, with long dirty blond hair tied back into a low ponytail and a few strands of his hair dangling in front of his face. His face was that of an older man, and unlike most of his younger comrades, he actually had facial hair. A goatee to be exact. He was tall (a few inches shorter then Sephiroth), with a muscular build and lightly tanned skin stretched over the SOLDIER elite build. Roy wore the standard SOLDIER uniform, with minor alterations to hold his twin swords and his hand gun.

Roy was a man to respect. He had been a SOLDIER since he was fourteen, which was over twenty-five years ago. Outside the Shinra walls, he was not as famous as Sephiroth, but within those walls was a completely different story. He was best known for his strict training, but candidates that got assigned to him became one of Shinra's top SOLDIER members. If he didn't kick them out or reassigned them to a different mentor. His greatest student was the famous Sephiroth. The Shinra president gave him power equivalent to SOLDIER Director Lazard when Sephiroth completed the final exam in record time. "None of you will be kicked out this week. For the next seven days you will be monitored and examined by your superiors. After the seven days however…look to your left, look to your right. After the week is up, a quarter of you will be gone." Roy stated as he scanned the faces of his subordinates, looking for the weak ones. Heather frowned.

_One week to prove yourself? Heh, this is going to be one hell of a week. _

"This is going to be the first of many tests to come," Roy stated, "This obstacle course will test your stamina, strength and endurance. When I call your name you will begin here," He pointed at a line that was engraved into the dirt, "and you'll be graded on how well you complete the course and how fast you are able to do it. Understood?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Heather nowingly knew her name wouldn't be called for a while; she took this opportunity to examine the course. Each obstacle had a fair distance between them, five maybe seven yards. The first obstacle would be crawling under barbed wire for about twelve feet, followed by vaulting over barriers that varied from two feet to five feet. From there, monkey bars that were three feet apart, then a twelve foot wall climb that hid a large swamp like terrain. To cross over the swamp, two foot wide wooden poles were scattered around in the murky water and were to be used as a pathway. After that the candidate would just have to run to the finish line. Once again, Max frowned; monkey bars had always been her weakness. She could never keep her hands on the bars her arms would give out from the strain once she'd make it to the third bar she would fall.

"Sparks…Heath!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Heather replied.

Heather got ready to run on command, all her anxiety, fear and nervousness had disappeared. Right here, right now, she wanted to prove herself.

"Begin." Like a bullet out of its barrel, Heather rushed off to the first obstacle, the barbed wire.

Zack's friend and fellow Second-class SOLDIER Kunsel let out a low whistle. "Wow, that kid runs like a bat out of Hell," Kunsel observed.

"Bat's don't run Kunsel," Zack snickered at his auburn haired friend, "They fly." Kunsel rolled his mako-enhanced eyes before shoving Zack.

"Don't correct me man or I'll kick your ass."

"Kick my ass? I'm sorry, my memory might be a little hazy, but I believe that the score was fifteen, twenty. Twenty belonging to me! The handsome, dark-haired, ladies man!"

"Handsome? Ladies man? Pfft, only in your dreams."

"I bet I could beat you even when I'm a sleep."

Angeal began to massage his forehead. The one day he forgot to bring earplugs, these two decide to have a brainless argument. "Gentlemen, shut up!" Angeal ordered. Kunsel instantly settled down, while his dark-haired 'ladies man' buddy huffed and scowled but let the argument die.

"Thank you…"

"Look at that boy go!" One of the Thirds said.

Focusing his attention back to the course (where it should have been in the first place) Zack raised his eyebrows in surprise. The novice had already cleared the first obstacle, with little to none scratches on his body or torn clothing, and had already vaulted over the first two barriers. Watching intensely, Zack noted that when the candidate approached the barrier, he didn't hesitate. It was a human reaction to stop for a quick second to build energy before jumping and when in SOLDIER that tiny flaw was eliminated within the first month. For a SOLDIER, even a quick pause could bring disaster. This kid however didn't even stall.

"_He must have had an excellent mentor_" Zack thought as he observed the purplish-black haired boy named Heath vault over the last barrier.

"Excellent stamina, pacing himself," Angeal began to mutter to himself. Zack knew this habit well. Whenever Angeal examined something thoroughly he talked to himself. "Upper body strength needs work." Silently, Zack agreed as he went back to watching the applicant swing to each bar. He was struggling. As the final obstacle approached, Zack focused all his attention. He didn't want to miss a thing.

As Heather neared the wall, her eyes wandered towards the crowd. Her brown eyes narrowed slightly at a black haired SOLDIER. With those bright, mako-enhanced, navy eyes she remembered he introduced himself as Zack. Pulling herself up, Heather was surprised at her new found strength.

_C'mon Heather! You can do it! _Heather thought to herself.

Grabbing the edge of the wall she hoisted herself up. Swinging her body over, she landed on the nearest pole. Jumping from one pole to another, she bolted the second her feet touched the ground.

Roy smirked as he watched the boy cross the finish line. Though he seemed a bit out of breath, he did well. Looking down at the clipboard, Roy underlined

**Sparks Heath**.

_Let's see what you can do maggot. _Roythought.

"Roy's group is impressive," Angeal comments as he watched the next applicant start, "He's going to have fun picking out the weak ones and tearing them to shreds, that sadist."

"Such harsh words Angeal," A smooth voice playfully scolds, "Though true, there is no need to voice them."

"Back from your mission already Genesis?" Angeal asks, smirking as his red-haired friend approached, "You just missed a very impressive candidate."

Looking up from his Loveless novel, Genesis smiled as he stopped beside Angeal. He states, "Impressive? Well then, Roy will have fun trying to break the boy." This time, it was Angeal's turn to mock-scold his friend.

"Genesis! No need for such callous remarks!" Angeal playfully scolded, lightly mocking his friend's earlier dialogue.

Genesis chuckled lightly, closing his book as he did, "Two hundred gil says that Roy breaks the boy." Holding out his hand, Genesis sent Angeal a challenging stare. Would he take the bet? Grasping his pal's hand, Angeal shook it, giving Genesis a smirk in response.

"You're on."


	4. Chapter 4

Love of a SOLDIER

Chapter Four:

_I did horrible on the monkey bars, and the wall scaling. I probably lost some points for those two_ Heather thought beating herself up over her mistakes.

While Heather was thinking about the training course and beating herself up over her mistake Heather failed to notice her commanding officer approaching.

"Heath Sparks, correct?" Asked Roy, his blue SOLDIER trade-mark eyes looking at the candidate as he said the candidate's name. Heather quickly turned around surprised and felt stupid for not noticing her commanding officer.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Heather responded.

Roy smirked, folding his hands behind his back as he looked down at the rookie. "Sparks, your strength needs improvement. Give me twenty push-ups," Roy ordered. A little set-back by the order, Heather looked up at her superior in alarm. Roy glared at the novice, "Today rookie!" He barked.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Heather responded. By the tenth push-up, her arms began to ache in protest. Squeezing her eyes, she ignored her biceps protects and continued.

_Sixteen, seventeen…eighteen…nineteen… twenty!_

Heather felt her arms quiver in relief when she finished the last push-up. Standing up, she saluted her commanding officer, even though her arms wished she hadn't.

"If you want to become a SOLDIER, you will work on increasing your strength. Right, maggot?" Roy asked rather loudly.

_Dude didn't need to shout. _

Resisting the urge to flinch, Heather replied, "Sir! Yes, sir!"

"Return to your barracks and unpack. You may explore the grounds after that." Heather nodded and saluted her superior before taking her leave.

The blond elite nodded, and then walked off to go torture another applicant. As soon as he was out of ear-shot, Heather let out a breath of relief.

"_My arms are on fire!" _Heather thought, rubbing your biceps.

* * *

><p>"Zack, you're unusually quiet, and here I thought you'd be making friends with the candidates," Roy commented.<p>

Glancing at the blond First, Zack shrugged his shoulders. "I was going too, but your ponytail distracted me," Zack replied with a smirk. "Cheeky monkey. What the hell kind of student are you teaching Angeal? Disrespecting his superiors!" Exclaimed Roy as he glared at Zack.

Angeal chuckled whole-heartily. "You're right! We ought to punish him for his disrespect, but what kind of punishment?" Zack stared in disbelief. Were they serious? Roy was being sarcastic first, so naturally he would reply with equal wit. It was a battle of wit right? Right? The answer is no…A big fat NO!

Roy and Angeal looked at each other, smirking as the same idea crossed their minds. "Should we?" "I think we should. "Zack," Angeal called. Pulling out of his state of disbelief, Zack looked at his mentor, "as punishment for your disrespectful words-" Zack frowned at this, "-I assign you to babysitting."

"What do kids have to do with SOLDIER!" Zack questioned, his arms flailing to emphasize his point. Roy snickered at the young male.

Not kids Fair. You'll be babysitting my candidates for this week."

"What?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Roy smirked cockily, "Congratulations Zack, you're a mom."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, sorry it's a little short this time.<strong>

**~Placido**


	5. Chapter 5

Love of a SOLDIER

Chapter Five:

"Straight flush beat that!"

"…Royal flush. Read 'em and weep losers."

"…Ass…"

The barracks weren't the nicest place to live, but to many cadets it was home. All the cadets were wandering around the dorms, searching for friends to spend time with – either to chat or annoy. When Heather returned to her temporary home, she was greeted with loud men yelling about how someone cheated. She surveyed the barrack, men were everywhere. Heather sat on her bunk bed she sat there while other men introduced themselves to their bunk buddy's and talked, some were playing a poker game and betting their money, everyone was being sociable except her. Someone seemed to notice this and walked over to her bunk bed to strike a conversation. He was a talkative, hazel eyed, brunette (Shin) and a complete opposite; Dion followed behind, a calm, auburn haired, brown eyed boy.

"Hi, I'm shin and this is my friend Dion." Shin gave a smile giving a small wave.

"…"

Heather didn't know what to say she was never very sociable, she never really talked much. "Attention!" Roy ordered, silencing his candidates they all lined up at their bed post standing straight before their superior, "Okay rookies, this is Zack Fair and during this week he'll be the one in charge."

_Isn't that the guy I met earlier?_ Heather thought as she looked at the Second-class SOLDIER.

"You will obey him and respect him. If he tells you to do something, you'll do it without question, understood?" Roy stated.

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Zack watched silently seeing these candidates had brought back memories of when he first joined. All the painful memories…Yeah, he was going to continue suppressing those memories. As he turned to leave, the First placed his hand on the junior's shoulder. "They're all yours Zack." Straightening his posture, Zack nodded.

"Okay recruits. These are the rules," Zack began. Smiling, Roy exited the room. "Rule number one…" Opening the door, Zack watched as his superior disappeared around a corner. "When I say something, just do it. Other than that do whatever…oh, don't break anything." With that, his posture relaxed, and the dark haired teen sat down on a nearby couch. The barrack remained quiet until-

"You're the coolest SOLDIER ever…" The guy who introduced himself as Shin blurted out with a grin.

Rubbing his fingernails against his chest, Zack smirked. "I know."

Everyone relaxed instantly and went back to what they were doing before Roy appeared. Staring at the dark haired male, Heather's face began to heat up. Zack was pretty cool, in that cocky, smartass way. Cute too…

"Hey, are you okay? Your face is really red." Shin asked as he sat back up. "Do you have a fever or something?"

Upon hearing the word 'fever', Zack looked over at the recruit. His mako eyes widened at the reddening face of the recruit he met earlier. Getting off the couch, Zack walked over and kneeled down beside Heather's bed. "Heath Sparks right?" Placing one hand on her forehead and his other on his own, Zack continued, "You feel a little warm. It's probably nothing but let's go to the infirmary just to be safe. Better safe than sorry right?" Zack grinned, causing her face to become redder. Standing Zack offered his hand to her. "You can stand right?"

Uh –Y-yeah. Heather said.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Fair you really don't have to do this. You can go back to the barracks if you want. I can find the infirmary by myself." Heather said.<p>

Zack shook his head. "No can do. Besides," Smile, "if something were to happen to you I'd be in a lot of trouble."

"I guess," Heather mumbled.

"Aanndd, I'd feel completely terrible if something did," Zack said, Heather was blushing.

A sharp sting in her head, Heather quickly brought her hand to grip the spot, teeth grinding against each other as the sting became a throb. Great, her stomach pain had decided to move north.

"Heath?"

"Mr. Fair, take me to the infirmary please." Heather inhaled deeply, hoping that it would bring some relief. "My head's killing me." Zack kneeled down, holding his arms behind him. "Mr. Fair…?" "Get on, I'll carry you there," He instructed. Heather was rethinking his offer. Zack looked back at her. "Well? Getting on or what? The headache's going to get worse the longer you stand there," He said with a smile. Hesitantly she climbed onto his back.

"Mr. Fair, are you sure this is okay?" Heather asked. As he stood, she tightened her grip on his shoulders. Thankfully, Zack looped his arms around her knees to hold her, and not under her butt. She'd probably die of embarrassment if he did that.

Zack shifted her body slightly so she wouldn't fall, before looking over his shoulder. "Yep! You're surprisingly light for a boy," Replied Zack, "Oh, and call me Zack. Mr. Fair's my father." Heather giggled at the cheesy pun, getting a small smile from the Second.

One thing was for sure; Zack liked her laugh.

* * *

><p>One quick trip to the infirmary later, both Heather and Zack returned to the briefing room, with Heather being a bit drugged (just a bit).<p>

_What kind of medicine did that doctor give me?_ Heather thought.

On their way back to the barracks Zack started up a conversation about SOLDIER. He told Heather that he was promoted to Second last month, and that his ultimate goal was to become a First and become a hero. When he asked Heather, Heather responded that she wanted to become a SOLDIER and hopefully make it to First class.

The rest of the day was spent in classes or being talked to death by Shin who she really didn't care talking to. In fact, that's how the rest of the week went -minus Shin's talking, which stopped after he got tired. Heather was were either in class, outside training or protecting her ass from Roy's obvious attempts to send her to the ICU. He didn't try to kill her in her sleep, which was surprising because she was a hundred percent sure asphyxiation wasn't beneath him. But not, that would be too easy for him. Roy attempts at assault/murder were the least of her problems though. It seemed that some divine being had become bored with being all powerful and decided that screwing with her hormones was better than causing a volcano to erupt or getting endangered species to breed. Thinking she was injured, summoned Zack and he swooped her off to the infirmary -in his creamy white skin tone, muscular, god-like arms and held her against that beautifully toned chest.

During the week, Heather and Zack had become closer, but not so close that the two of them were hanging out whenever they had free time, but during the breaks sometimes the two would converse, and it was always Zack to approach her. Friendship was yet to blossom between them two. It was the night before the final test, and the rest of the candidates were jittery from the thrill of not knowing what the final test was going to be. "Survival test, it's got to be a survival test," Shin declared as he pulled his shirt off. Out of shear politeness, Heather averted her eyes but briefly got a glimpse of developing abs.

"How can you be so sure? For all we know it could be an actual test," Heather retorted focusing on her pillow. "You know, ones with words?"

Shin scoffed, "Puh-lease! SOLDIERS are meant to fight! Or do heroes to children and protectors of peace mean nothing?"

"Sparks has a point Shin; SOLDIERS cannot rely on brute strength alone. You'll need to have a brain to go with the brawn," Dion explained.

Shin scoffed and rolled his hazel colored eyes. "That's what those scheming, rat-faced Turks are for. They lie in the shadows, using humans as chess pieces in their cruel game of…chess. My point is SOLDIER equals strength and Turks equals brains," Flopping onto his bed, Shin's expression turned into a serious one. "Why do you think the ShinRa President keeps them close? It's not because he enjoys their company. He needs people who can pull strings like a talented puppeteer." Heather frowned at this comment. Surely this couldn't be true… if the Turks were that powerful, there would be no need for a SOLDIER department. Shaking her head, Max lied down. Shin was speaking nonsense, that's all.

"Lights out guys." Heather looked up, only to immediately look down again. What was with these guys thinking that shirts were unnecessary?

Grinning at the excited faces of the young boys, Zack said, "Tomorrow's the final test and you'll have to be ready for whatever they throw at you! This week has been fun, and I've enjoyed leading you… but I'll be honest, not everyone will pass," Solemn expressions appeared on the younger teens faces, "…but I have confidence… that this squad will make it!" A wave of cheers erupted, some of the pumping their fists into the air. Zack grinned at the enthusiasm, but when his eyes fell on a certain candidate, the grin faltered. Sparks seemed to be the only one not pumped up, or even slightly excited, which bewildered Zack. Out of all the newcomers, he seemed to be the most quiet and reserved person. Walking over to Heather's bed, Zack flopped down beside him.

"Something bugging you?"

"N-no," Heather stammered. _For the love of everything, put a shirt on!_

"Really? You seem…sad," Zack replied.

"You should really put a shirt on Zack," hoping he didn't hear.

Zack grinned, "Oh, I see." Heather was soon pulled in a headlock, face a liiitle too close to his stomach, "Don't worry Heath!" Zack ruffled her hair, and then proceeded to give her a noogie.

"When you become a top SOLDIER like me, you'll achieve this great body and attract girls!"

Ripping herself out of his grasp, her face turned as red as a tomato, she snapped, "I don't wanna attract girls!" It got really quiet after that. Heather clutched the fabric of her shorts, thinking of what she just said.

"Um… Heath," Shin hesitantly said, "You… you're not, Y'know?"

"No Shin… I'm not gay," Heather responded, "I just don't want to attract girls…" And her grave just got deeper.

Zack, on the other hand, started to grin like a mad man. "Oh, I see. It's completely clear now. You're afraid of girls!" His outburst made everyone gasp, "Perfectly reasonable.

Heather sighed. "Yeah… that's it." Better this then everyone thinking she was gay. Roy would have probably used that to torment her even farther.

Zack threw his arm over her shoulder. "How old are you again? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

"…Fifteen," Heather mumbled.

"Okay! In three years, I'll take you to the Honey Bee Club and we'll fix that phobia of yours lickity split!" Heather hung her head in defeat, knowing that nothing could be said.


	6. Chapter 6

Love of a SOLDIER

Chapter Six:

The next day, she woke up in the wood structure of a bunk bed.

Immediately, her eyes swept the place when she realized there was someone calling her name.

"Heath? Hey man. Are you awake?"

Looking to her right, she suddenly noticed the boy standing there, waiting. There was a look of shame, concern, and utter discomfort on his face as he looked at everything but Heather's face. It was obvious the boy wanted to be anywhere but there. But... who was he? And what did he want?

Heather stayed silent and waited. In fact, the boy didn't even look like he wanted to hear Heather's response just that he wanted to escape as soon as possible.

"Look, um, I'm sorry waking you up and everything. Especially, yeah since SOLDIER final exams are today. Aren't you nervous, man?

_Nervous_? As if that wasn't the most random thing... What was there to be nervous about?

At Heather's lack of response, the boy continued to talk. "Also, it would be real unfortunate that we didn't get in. I mean, we can always try next year? Right? Just aim for that; I'm sure we'll get into SOLDIER next year. Yeah, maybe."

Without a look back, the boy immediately left Heather alone at her bunk bed. Well, as if she ever gets nervous... and for  
>what? No, there was definitely something else in that speech that Heather had just missed.<p>

Heather crossed her legs and looked at the wall opposite her thoughtfully as she went over the words.

Wait.

Did the boy just say _SOLDIER final exams start today?_

Heather rustled the covers off of her and then slipped on her boots before starting to get dressed. She desperately needed some fresh air. Heather didn't think she'd ever been so nervous in her life. She'd dreamt of this day for so long, she almost believed it was just that. A dream. But it wasn't. Today, she would wear a SOLDIER cadet uniform, and become a SOLDER for the rest of her life if she passed that is.

Only the best made it into SOLDIER. Joining Shinra's elite guard was the goal of so many young men. There was also the not-so-tiny fact that the force was led by Sephiroth. _Sephiroth_, the great General of Shinra, whom Heather beheld in adoration and wonder. She had heard so many stories about the legendary man. Tales of his leadership during the war of Wutai and of his already inhuman strength, only to be intensified by Mako treatment. Heather had let herself believe, that there was no way that she would make it into SOLDIER, she didn't even stand a chance at matching any of these men.

After only a few minutes of getting dressed, however, she felt certain that she had heard something move above her. She looked up and saw a figure looking down at her on the bunk bed. For a moment, she believed herself to be caught, but then a new suspicion sprang in her mind. In the dark, it was hard to see properly, but her belief was confirmed when she got close enough to recognize a very obnoxious male that she knew well.

He looked critically at his friend and comrade. "Heath, what are you doing up?" he asked her, yawning.

"Oh." She said. "Well, I couldn't sleep and thought I'd…"

"Go out for a bit of fresh air? Ya think I'm an idiot? You're not as quiet as you make yourself out to be. Now, get back to bed before we all get in trouble" he told her.

_"Damn! Some of us are trying to get some sleep!"_ said a distant voice, one of the cadets at the other end of the barracks.

Heather and Shin turned toward the voice but ignored it.

"Shin, If you tell anyone I'll..." her voice trailed off. What would she do?

"You'll what?" he laughed.

"I'll... I'll beat you up." she replied sharply. It was a lie.

_"Shut up back there"_ said another yell from down the barracks.

"Oh shu'dup!" Shin yelled back at the other cadets. He sighed, and knew that he could not argue with the other cadet. "Fine. I won't rat on you." he said firmly. "I don't think the higher-ups would be pleased to find out that one of their cadets has been sneaking out at night. And if they ever found out that _I_ let you…"

_"Are we gonna have to hear this crap all night?"_ called another exasperated cadet.

Heath snorted. "If I get caught I'll take the heat."

He certainly couldn't disagree with _that _statement.

She stepped out into the corridor, which was silent. She hoped she wouldn't meet anyone on the way out, and thought longingly of the map, which she'd forgotten in her bag. With any luck, though, being a rookie with no sense of direction would be enough to avoid trouble. Heath took a detour down the corridors, which was longer but less likely to have someone patrolling the area. She walked quickly and purposefully, and soon she had made it outside.

She had to admit. Being a man certainly did have its advantages.

* * *

><p>Two hours till the squad deployed and Zack still hadn't found Heath. It was as if the rookie had disappeared, a wisp of smoke. As he had said, the rookie's bag was packed and hadn't even been opened. Zack guessed that Heath had had it packed since it was so neat that he doubted his friend had so much as touched its contents. He walked up to a small group of soldiers who stood to attention the moment they saw him approach.<p>

"At ease. Now have any of you seen Cadet Heath Sparks?' He asked. The five men looked at each other then shook their heads. Zack raised an eyebrow. "Whatever he has threatened to do to you for telling me is nothing compared with what I _will_ do if you don't.' He warned, keeping his voice completely level. A couple of the soldier paled and he turned his attention on the one most likely to cave.

"Cadet Shin, you appear to know something." He stated.

"He's on the roof, sir." The man blurted out. The rest of the group glared at him and he shirked back. Zack nodded and walked down the corridor at a normal pace up to the point when he was out of sight. Then he sprinted to the steps and took then three at a time up to the roof.

Heather was sat with her feet dangling over the edge of the roof. Zack felt his heart leap as the cadet looked down. He ran up to the cadet Heath and dragged the rookie back. Cadet Heath lashed out and got a lucky punch to Zack's bad shoulder. The 2nd class shoulder hissed and grabbed the cadet by the scruff.

A childish voice blurted out. The 2nd class soldier had his hands up shielding his face, still blubbering incessantly.

"Hey, wait it just m-Ouch! Heath!" He yelled between punches. "It's me, it's Zack. You're safe… Safe." The cadet seemed to come back to herself and she pulled away from the 2nd class soldier. She fixed emotionless expression back on to his face as he turned to the cadet but as soon as she saw the guilt in the 2nd class soldier eyes, the mask shattered again.

"Well done, you've found out. Great, I congratulate you on your newfound powers of deduction." She snarled. The raven 2nd class soldier backed up.

"Heath, calm down." He half pleaded. The rookie closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. After a moment, Heather opened her eyes again and faced Zack.

"It appears I overreacted slightly." She said numbly.

After her adrenaline seemed to seep away and her heart calmed to slower pace Heath's head whipped upward to look at the higher-ups with wide fearful eyes. "Sir, sorry sir!" The rookie stood to attention immediately, forgetting her place that she was in SOLDIER for a moment and he was her superior standing before her, "At ease." The 2nd class soldier waved it away not really caring whether the cadet used formalities with him either way.

Why aren't you with the others?" He asked, not unkindly. The younger shrugged her scrawny shoulders.

"Does there have to be a reason, sir?" She replied. Zack's lips quirked into a small smile and then reigned back to a look of serene indifference.

"No. But most would take this time to get prepared and take the time to talk with their comrades on the last day. Judging by watching you with Cadet Shin, Cadet Deon and his crew, or whatever they call themselves, so you do know some of the rest. If that's the case then why are you up here when you should be with them, you're clearly not comfortable being by yourself." Zack said, he caught sight of Heath then immediately wished he hadn't. The young rookie looked at him with great annoyance it was obvious in its expression. Heather wasn't used to someone of Zack's personality. At times he could be so formal and yet turn like a switch as if he had been your friend for years. Zack could probably say the same about the rookie. Quiet and mysterious is what the cadet appeared to be to him. His mind was pulled back on task as he realized the Cadet hadn't replied yet.

The man had formed a smile so impossibly smug plastered to his face that it rivaled that of the Cheshire cat like he had figured it out. "Nervous?"

Heather nodded. "Yeah, more than I've ever been in my life," she admitted.

Zack smiled widely and let out a little laugh, messing up her hair with a hand. "It's only natural," he told the nervous cadet, understanding shining in his eyes.

Different but Special… That's all that explains the cadet. Soft purple black hair that bounces whenever she walks, the small smile she has, almost like she's afraid that she's showing emotion at the wrong time. At least Zack cracked her shell quite a bit since the time he first met her.

"What if I'm not meant for this?" she whispered, looking into his mako eyes.

"What was that Heath?" Zack smiled at her, running a hand through his hair.

"What if I'm not meant to be a SOLDIER?" Heather asked, looking fearful, "This has been my passion since I was a kid! I gave up everything for this! I didn't get to dances or go out on dates…"

"Whoa, you didn't go out on dates?" Zack asked with a smile, "Are you _that_ afraid of girls-"

"You're missing the point!" She pointed out to him exasperatedly, "Point is I'm in the wrong profession." Heather jerked her head up to glare furiously at the other man. Tears were becoming visible, she was sure, but she didn't care; all she wanted was to be left _alone_ and Zack wouldn't grant her even that. She heard harsh words spill from her mouth.

"Why can't you just _go away_? You always show up when I'd rather be by myself! You appear when I—I don't need your pity! You act like you know everything but you _don't_!"

She knew she should stop before she said any more, before she pushed Zack further away. Even so, she had already said too much. So many bitter words that her friend didn't deserve. In for a gill, in for a thousand. But…why wasn't Zack doing anything? Why wasn't he arguing? Why wasn't Zack yelling back, shouting at her? Why couldn't Zack punch her, instead of watching with that unnerving stare?

"You don't know, damn it! …you don't know what it's like…at all…"

In the next instant, Heather found herself wrapped in the SOLDIER's strong embrace. She struggled blindly for a few moments before finally collapsing against the other. It was useless to fight, really. The elder's physique and determination both exceeded her own. And as Zack held her close, Heather found she had no desire to fight either.

"Heath," Zack said still holding her, "listen to me. I've seen you out in the tests. You may not get the highest scores but you command that obstacle in your way and overcome it. You enjoy it. I've never seen anyone love being in the action more than you."

Heather gives him a small half smile, "Yeah…I do take pride in what I do…"

"Then why are you so upset?" Zack asked, squeezing her hand lightly.

"I just…I'm afraid I won't…pass," she shrugged looking back at him, "I wonder what it'd be like to wear the uniform."

"Well from what I've seen they have parades and dance in the locker room with strippers," Zack teased, "it's no different than winning except you add a point in the W column instead of the L. Now, back to your dating life. You've honestly never been on a date? Just one night-"

"No! God who do you think I am, a ladies' man?" Heath replies, looking disgusted, "Don't date. Never been kissed. You?"

"Been on a few dates here and there, it's just hard to find a girl in this company who isn't a total tool. Besides ShinRa takes up most of my time."

"Hey," Heather said, giving him a look that spoke volumes, "you'll find a girl who gets it."

It was then that he realized they were still holding each other. It was awkward, yet nice.

Zack swore… the way he fit against the cadet, personality, it was like the younger boy was made for him. But Zack frowned and quickly shook that thought away.

What was he thinking?

Heath was a man and so was he.

Just as Heather vaguely wondered how much time had passed, realization dawned on her by the lack of clothes he had and that he was still shirtless with arms around her. They both pulled away almost immediately.

He searched hard for an excuse, "Best way to calm someone down." Zack said awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

Heather nodded numbly. She hid the blush on her cheeks by turning her head though, because her face instantly got covered in purplish black strands. It had to be top quality styling products she used, because her hair was always so soft.

"Thank you, sir. I should go and check my pack's in order." The cadet said, clearly asking for a reason to be dismissed. "Permission to be dismissed, sir?" The rookie asked, already moving back towards the door.

The 2nd class SOLDIER gave her a look which said he wasn't finished but nodded anyway and allowed the rookie to leave. "Permission granted. I think we best get back down before people start to worry, only an hour until SOLDIER exams. Come on, soldier, down you go." Zack said calmly. The cadet nodded at him with what looked like gratitude then opened the door and went down the steps. "Good luck today, Heath." The smooth voice replied. "I believe in you."

Her eyes widen, surprised beyond words at the burning sincerity she sees in his eyes.

"Why?"

She can't honestly see why he, or anyone, would believe in her, when most of the time she is questioning herself. As though he could hear her thoughts, he walks towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I believe in you because you're strong, even though you don't see your strength yourself. I believe in you because you keep your cool when everybody else is lost. You put things in perspective and are able to make the right choice even though it's the hard one."

The intensity in his eyes burns holes in hers, but she cannot look away.

"You distinguish between right and wrong and you're not afraid to follow the path you must. You listen to people and you're able to guide them in their hour of need, you're compassionate and firm, your heart and your head are in the right place…"

His hold on her shoulder is tighter and he shakes her a bit, and the warmth his calloused skin gives her seems to spread through her body.

"You are _you_, and to me that's more than enough."

Their eyes are locked and she finds that it's easier to breathe, that her chest no longer feels constricted by fear and self-doubt, that the heavy weight she's been carrying since coming here, even though it hasn't been lifted off her shoulders, is now bearable.

Her hope might be a grain of sand in an hourglass where time is slipping away too fast; her efforts might be as insignificant as the flickering light of a candle in the middle of the fiercest storm. But even the faintest light shines intensely in the darkest hour there is still hope. And at that moment Heather really did believe she could do it because Zack said so.

Heather silently wondered why the man was so nice to her. Well, he was a 2nd class SOLDIER after all and one didn't get to that position in SOLDIER by being nice.

Now the cadet was no longer looking at him, the 2nd class SOLDIER let the tiredness briefly show on his face. Zack was going to have a lot of explaining to do. What sort of 2nd class SOLDIER allows something like that to happen under his watch, the one they're supposed to look up too? And then he sends the cadet to the one place where flashbacks are most likely to occur. Nothing says high stress, strong fear and command like a war zone. Zack let his eyes wander across the rooftop and suddenly noticed a ShinRa CCTV camera trained on him. He glared at it then turned and followed Heath back down to the rest of his squad. He had hoped to get some sleep before they left but he had known from the start that that wasn't going to happen. The 2nd class soldier sighed and decided to make one last round of the squad before they left.

* * *

><p>"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Roy roared at two of the younger soldiers. The men turned to him instantly, having not noticed his presence before.<p>

"We were just messing around, sir." a cadet said with the slight undertones of a cocky teenager. The higher up gave him a stern look.

"You're just messing around with fully loaded fire arms. If you wanted to play like children with your mates then you should have stayed at home with your mommy's. This is a battle field, not only could you break the weapons, which could result in someone from the squad dying, but you could accidentally fire one, which could also end up in serious injury or death. No I didn't think that I would have to tell a grown man in _SOLDIER_ that guns aren't toys but it seems I was mistaken." Roy hissed. The young man looked stricken and tried to hold his composure. "If I ever catch you, or anyone else messing round with anything, I'm pulling you out of here." If his little speech hadn't got the squads attention, his threat certainly did the trick.

"But you can't do that sir-" Another soldier began, Roy turned to him.

"Really? As far as I'm aware, I am the Captain here. I seem to be the one in charge. Is there anyone with more authority? No? Then I guess I _am_ in charge, so guess what? I can." No one else even tried to argue with him this time, which was probably for the better seen as Roy didn't think he had it in him to be cruel for more than twenty minutes at a time before he started apologizing for his actions.

After the Captains rant, the squad had gotten the rest of work done; turning the warehouse into an army base is not the easiest of tasks. Roy called his troops together.

Roy walked by the line of cadets and all of them immediately straightened up to attention. There wasn't a noise in the room except his footsteps and the sound was almost eerie. None of them were ever this quiet unless they were in the presence of a First, which rarely happened. Today was a big day. Everyone knew it.

When he stopped in front of Heather and she felt sick almost expecting some sort of pain.

"You guys look good!" he announced, smiling proudly at them. That was the first time they had ever gotten a compliment from anyone of major importance. Some of them broke out of attention to let a small smile grow across their faces, only to be reminded of where we were.

"Keep up the good work," he added, looking Heather in the eye –well, the best he could anyway – with a smile, he was gone and out the other door before Heather could re-gather her thoughts and she felt herself give a sigh of relief. The look he gave her told her he knew something he wasn't telling. Did he find out her late night excursion of sneaking out of the barracks?

"I hope you had a good breakfast, kid… Cuz you're gonna be tastin' it again!"

Heather braced herself, but sure enough the ship's jerking and pitching was enough to cause her stomach to churn and the burning sensation of acid to rise in her mouth. But she swallowed it down bravely; puking on the airship was not an option, and she wasn't exactly keen on vomiting into her uniform, the only other choice. It wasn't only the thrashing of the carrier twisting her innards, however…

It was what lay ahead.

Had she not been wearing gloves, her nails would have been digging into his palms through the whole trip. She could hear her own heart thudding blood past her ears. She knew she should just relax and let her training carry her through, but the anxiety simply refused to lift. She did not feel confident in herself, did not believe she would come through with victory. After all, that was how things had always been for her; why should they change now?

"Touchdown in thirty seconds!" the pilot announced.

The commander, in his blood-red uniform, nodded to the young troops. "Alright, this is where we find out who's the boys an' who's the men. Like we drilled; grab your guns an' go, the objective's the only victory. An' no teamwork bullshit this time, keep going North, this is every man for himself an' every kid for the grave."

Heather swallowed and nodded, eyes narrowed, belting out "Yes, sir!" like the others but with extra grit. She certainly knew better this time, and was more determined to succeed than allow others to pass by her. It wasn't exactly confidence, but the determination did help her believe she could do something this time…

The ship hovered over the ground, the troops filing like ants in fast-forward to grab their guns and rush into the thundering outdoors. It was storming fiercely. Footing was treacherously slippery, and there was little light aside from the heavenly flashes echoing the gunshots that hailed the young group. It was as if the very sky were firing upon them, on the same side as the enemy. A few of the boys hung back, but most of them rushed forward as gunshots zoomed by. Heather was one of the latter, eyes narrowed, ignoring the cold and the wind and the projectiles. She had to do this. She had to. She would rather die than screw up…

The scenario ran in her mind as it had all day: Get to the trench, cover the superiors as they come in from the flanks and grenade the front enemy ranks, then infiltrate. Hold and secure the position, then search it for one of seven materia hidden within the base. That materia would…

Heather was stricken hard in the thigh, and she collapsed face-down in the mud, her cry of pain and shock instantly garbled. Another shot hit her in the back. She could feel her lungs lock up, colors danced even in front of her closed lids, and her world went black.


	7. Chapter 7

"Heath!" She faintly heard Shin yell out her name as she heard another large booming sound hit the ground. Heather woke up with a gasp. She wasn't dead. She was seriously freaking alive. A few moments ago she had passed out, as she got hit earlier. And now if she didn't move now she was going to end up dead. Heather's eyes didn't close all the way, so she unsteadily used her arms and gently pulled herself up on her legs

The pain that came next was nearly unbearable, a guttural cry escaping from her mouth. It was coming from her thigh and she looked down to see a gash wound from her back leg to her front. Heather gasped from the sight. Adrenaline pumped in her veins, numbing the pain as she looked frantically around for Shin. "Heath!" yelled out to his friend. "Take cover!" He was scrambling over towards her but he just gave her one last look, before unexpectedly they both got blind sited by another explosion and grey smoke.

And the other thing that she _really _didn't expect though was one of those crazed examines chucking a fragmentation grenade at her, blasting her sorry behind away and peppering her already battered body with deadly fragments. She could see a couple of wounds in her legs and right foot, which wasn't really that bad; but what she was most concerned about was the fact that the side of her thigh had a gash in it, and that she was on her way to experience what was most likely a slow and excruciatingly painful death.

As the explosion hit she instantly went down on the ground "That was close…Oh shit, that was close…" She panicked. On the wall adjacent to her, Shin and Deon were also diving towards the dirt, trying to maintain a low silhouette as possible to hide themselves from the line-of-sight.

"Go!" He ordered as he vaulted from his cover.

A loud roar was heard, followed by the screams of the cadets as the explosive detonation consumed them with hot, metallic fragments. She didn't waste any time taking advantage of this newfound opportunity.

As she ran another detonation went off and Heather found herself falling as the ground beneath her feet was destroyed into ruble and chunks of rock. She was sliding down in something that looked like a cave of some sort. At the end of the tunnel she had to brace herself as wood and limbs blocked the passage. The impact was painful but she had to keep moving.

"How am I going to make it out of here alive?" A quick catastrophic thought arose in Heather, as her world began to collapse all around. She swiftly glanced at her surroundings, looking for a way out after having her feet blasted out from under her. An ancient cave, which was built underneath the forest of the island, had begun to shudder violently, similar to the style of a pounding earthquake. Chunks of rocks from above started to fall, and Heather certainly didn't want to be crushed to her death.

Heather kept running to where the exit was, not even looking back to see the scene behind her. She came to a sudden halt, realizing her path had a gap between two rocks torn in two. The other side of the rock was sinking into the dark, murky depths below, the edge of the almost fifteen feet away.

"Shit!" Heather cursed, looking at her predicament with growing frustration.

Under pressure, and knowing that this cave structure will not last any longer now as it was in its final stages of self destruction, Heather prepared herself for a running-jump. She stopped in her tracks when near the edge, and took a few steps back on the rock. Heather exhaled, as the cave behind her was now destroyed. Before its path of obliteration reached to where she was, Heather moved swiftly, and just as her left footing got to the verge of the last step, she made an attempted jump.

Midway through the air, Heather stretched out her body along with her hands and arms reaching for the ledge of the remaining rock. However, the newly created gap between the two rocks was wider than she expected so in turn, Heather didn't have enough momentum exerted to get to the other side!

The mud and water made her hands slick. She could feel herself slipping down. "No!" Heather shouted, the ground was too wet and her hands were slipping in the mud frantically. It was pointless, though. The ledge gave a vibrating creak and then a sudden jerk. The shift sent Heather slipping off the precipice of the jagged edge of the rock. Heather screamed as she fell, her one hand grabbed the edge firmly latching on to the edge just in time, pulled her body along with her. Heather screamed out in pain as the weight of her body pulled on the sockets of her arm. It felt like they were being ripped off of her body.

Heather tried to pull herself up, but she just didn't have the strength to pull up with only one hand. Upper body strength just wasn't a girl's best friend. It was times like these that Heather cursed the many weakness of the woman body.

_ "I believe in you."_ Heather heard someone shout in her head. A memory. It was Zack. It wasn't too late. Heather _knew _she could do this. "I didn't come this far just to give up! I can do this!" Heather's other hand grabbed on tight and she pushed her upper body to the limit screaming under her breath while doing so. The weight of her body pulled her down, but refused to let go this time. Using both of her arms she successfully pulled herself up.

Heather dug her hands and arms in the bud and climbed up the steep wet muddy hill above. It had seemed that there was no way out of this situation. Out of the blue, Heather caught a glimpse of eclipsing light coming from a small crack up above. Knowing this maybe her only chance of escaping the crumbling cave, Heather hurried on the double. Using whatever strength she had left, Heather used her knees and arms to keep climbing up.

But it was not this that worried Heather as much as what she was about to see up ahead. Up ahead, bits of giant hefty boulders bigger than before became undone, and within a matter of a few seconds hurtled towards her once again. She needed to move to avoid be crushed!

Without hesitation, Heather ducked and dashed to side avoiding impact. Another came her way but Heather did the same thing as the last moving out of the way and kept climbing. Kept going. Not giving up. When she finally made it to the light she got herself out. Just in time before the cave had finally collapsed forcefully causing the small rocks and pebbles to scatter around on the ground outside the crack. The entranceway to where she had been to get through there was blown to smithereens!

She found herself struggling to catch her breath and just let herself slump forward on the ground in exhaustion. She wasn't so used to seeing this much action; this was the first time she'd been out on a full-blown firefight. Although there were a few skirmishes she and the other cadets participated every now and then, they weren't anything like this. She just hoped Shin and Deon were okay and that they were having it better compared to her.

"But where are they?" she wondered. The other members were most likely at this time rapidly moving out towards their assigned tasks to finish the test. "They must have gone inland." It seemed Heather was on her own from here.

Now that she was finally out she could finally try and re-route and maybe even complete the test. But who knew how far off she was, she was lost, and had no clue what time it was. Plus she was hungry. Heather stumbled a few times before getting up and went deeper into the approach of the depths of the forest, cautious and slowly, not wanting to overextend her advance. She move on up ahead.

It was eerily quiet, and with every slow step she took it made her heart beat even faster. There were nothing but trees up ahead spanned on to about a hundred meters, and just about twenty meters behind further, were more trees with varied height. She couldn't see any activity yet, and she didn't know whether she should be thankful or frightened. If the cadets weren't there, they must've displaced, and it might take another while for her to find them again and acquire their position. If they were there, that means they were just waiting for her and the rest of the battalion to move in and hit them from above.

Either way, she couldn't give up and go back only hope for survival and move forward. But she was a cadet, and she still had a job to do. Heather proceeded onward; deep into the forest.

At some point, it started to rain. Heather crouched in the brush of the shallow forest, examining twigs and sticks on the ground for firewood. It had begun to rain even more heavely; she was scourging to find dry firewood before it could be soaked beyond possible use.

She scanned the area around her. The area was perfect for a camping spot. The spot was a flat dirt spot surrounded by trees and bushes. It was a bank to the stream that flowed briskly past. On the side of the stream was open field so when night came around she could see the stars. Heather shivered from the cold and began setting up camp. After setting up the fire pit that she had brought, Heather sat in front of the fire. She wiped the sweat that dripped down her face.

It wasn't anything fancy just a small fire pit dug in the earth, but it was better than nothing. Heather wanted to keep going, but she was convinced that she needed to take shelter because she would become ill in the weather conditions. It would at least provide her some shelter until the rain stopped.

Her cold trembling body from the draft of cold rain became quickly warmed by the fire. It was definitely cold out there. She moved over to the fire pit and added some fresh wood to the fire, then sat down, warming her hands. Heather sat there in despair as the flames crackled and popped in front of her, the explosions, her friends, not knowing if everyone was okay. It was all too much for her. Fortunately, the flames have not yet gone out; she still has time to rest.

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><p><strong>My profile page will explain my absence but other then that I am back!<strong>

**I don't have a lot of subscribers and reviews for for this story as much as I wish but the people who have stuck with this story since the begining are so wonderful. Thank you! A big thanks to them for being very supportive for this story!**

**This is the unedited version. I'll have the edited version up once I get it finished. I just felt like putting it up because once I get all the prewritten chapters up I can show you guys the new chapters. Pretty excited for it! Thank you so much again for reading. It means the world! I can't wait to get back into this story and finally finish it! ;P**

**Ps please tell me what you thought of this chapter. Is it good? Bad? Should I redo it? Somehow I just don't feel confident about this chapter... I'd like to hear your thoughts! **


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